Welcome to our Spring virtual garden tour! See what's blooming right now as I take you through our garden filled with spring's best flowers. From honeywort to lettuce, enjoy the vibrant colors of the season.
credit: adapted from a John Muir quote
Whether you're an avid gardener, crafter, painter or just love nature, this tour offers inspiration for your senses and may even feed your soul!
In the Yard
Honeywort and Lambs Ear
This honeywort plant arrived as a surprise this year. It “self seeded” in the lambs ear and WOW…it is a spectacular pairing. I would never think to plant them together so I am happy nature had its own plan.
I’ve planted more honeywort in the cut garden because it is a wonderful addition to any bouquet and seems to have a long vase life.
Dogwoods
Lupine
No matter how you pronounce this plant…Lu-pin or Lu-pine it is something to behold!
Lupine is a perennial scrub that is native to the Pacific Northwest. Once it is established it will re-seed its self. As the pods dry, they pop open and launch seeds in all directions. It is a fun process to watch! You can also collect the pods and harvest the seeds.
The blooms make beautiful arrangements and their long necks twist and curve while they are in water.
This is my favorite cali lily. Purple centers, white and green petals, and variegated leaves! It is blooming early because it is came from a nursery.
Heuchera aka Coral Bells
Alliums
This variety is new to our garden this year. It is called Globe Master and should bloom to be about 6 inches wide when it is finished!
Star of Persia, and White Giant
Lilac
Clematis
There are tons of blooms this year! It shares a trellis with a David Austin climbing rose and I think the rose fertilizer may have contributed to the productivity of the clematis.
Centaurea Amethyst In Snow and Columbine
Peonies
It will be a few more weeks before our peonies open.
Miniture Japanese Maple
I love the color of these leaves and the tiny little dark pink “helicopter” pods!
Hosta
There are soooo many beautiful varieties of this fascinating plant. They love a cool shady spot in the garden and are big performers. I split some of our plants this year to fill in a north garden area and they barely skipped a beat in growth.
California Poppies
I have mixed feelings about this plant. They are spectacular in early spring but then die off and look messy and a bit like weeds. Ours are planted at the opening of the drive way to the field and make a nice greeting for guests. After they bloom, we usually weed-wack them to the ground to let other things grow in their place. Last year I transplanted some Rudbeckia to this same area in hopes they will take over after the poppies are spent.
Red Geum and Salvia
Eucalyptus
Our eucalyptus is thriving! As in they will be trees if we don’t trim them often! I am surprised they are doing so well in our part of the world. I don’t mind trimming them because they are really nice bouquet fillers!
In the Cut Flower Garden
The tulips are gone for this season and I transplanted the bulbs in various flower beds in the yard. It will be fun to see them again next spring.
Ranunculus
I am LOVING this mix of ranunculus blooms!
I would order these again in a heart beat and plant them in our yard…but…I can not find the receipt or confirmation for my purchase. So…I think they came from Costco.
The mix truly has a variety of color and shape.
They make fabulous bouquets!
Stock
These are new to the cut garden area this year. I purchased these from a nursery so they are already blooming. These also have a long vase life and are cut and come again blooms.
Strawflowers and a fun variety of Petunias
Snapdragon
Planting from Seed
I replaced the tulip bulbs in the cut garden with a variety of different flowers. This year my strategy is to plant more varieties in the space which requires fewer seeds from each packet.
I am a “plant all the seeds in the packet” gardener so extra seeds are going in the yard flower beds.
Perennials
The Wisteria is about two weeks from bloom time but the Dark Night Scabiosa are very tall and blooming.
We also have lilies, dahlias, fox glove, gladiolus, purple salvia, and white coneflower thriving from last year but are not ready to bloom yet.
In the Veggie Garden
Purple Cabbage
I consider this veggie an ornamental bonus plant. It is very eye catching in the garden and in the end it is food!
We have a lot of squash plants started. I moved most of them to a new location this year to allow more flower space in the garden!
It is an experiment…I will keep you posted on the success of the location.
I am most excited about the carriage pumpkins! The seeds were gifted from Hattie and her Mom. The seeds are giant and germinated really quickly.
Red Onion, White Onion, and Lettuce
The radishes are about finished so I will plant another round and hope they mature before it gets too hot.
We have lot of baby herbs starting to appear and the camomile plants are thriving and spreading. I gave the camomile a big hair cut so they should flush again!
On the Patio
The patio pot palette is green, silver, and dark purple again this year.
The star of most of the pots are silver angle wings.
Additional plants are mustard, coleus, lettuce, purple Swedish ivy, and white nemesia.
Pops of artemisia and purple pansies with…
…sweet alyssum and dusty miller.
There is also a small corner herb garden on the patio filled with cilantro, tarragon, sage, parsley, rosemary, and more mustard.
I hope you found inspiration in our virtual garden tour, whether you're planning your own garden, seeking a quiet moment to enjoy nature's beauty, or creating art. Inspiration comes from many places, no matter what your craft. Thank you for joining us, and may your creativity continue to bloom!
Tell us what you are planting, or painting, or quilting, or drawing, or cooking, in the comments below!